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Grand Canyon International Hostel

Flagstaff, Arizona, USA

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Address
19 S. San Francisco Street, Flagstaff   Map
Price
$15- $17 dorms, $30-37 private doubles Check Current Prices by Date Here
Location/Contact
Details
Their Description

Features

  • Free Breakfast
  • Kitchen
  • Lounge / Common space
  • BBQ
  • TV
  • Movie Library/Rental
  • Book Collection/Exchange
  • Washing Machine (laundry)
  • Clothes Dryer
  • Travel information provided
  • 24 Hour Free Hot Showers
  • Phones (public or in room)
 
The Hostelz.com Review
This hostel has a terrific atmosphere. There is always someone to talk to in the common room, which has an extensive video collection and comfortable, clean couches. There is a small separate computer and phone room. Bathrooms are shared, and are clean.

The free breakfast is fruit, toast, and instant oatmeal as well as coffe and tea. Not a bad deal, but it gets old if you stay for a few days. There is a great pizza joint only a few blocks away.

Some dorm rooms are located between the main hallway and the popular outdoor barbeque area which has picnic tables and lounge chairs, so beware of noise at night. As well, the train tracks are only a few blocks away, and the noise from them all night long does bother some people. Ear plugs are sold at the counter!

There are no lockouts, curfews, or chores at this hostel, and it's definitely worth visiting if you're in the Flagstaff area.

-- Exclusive Hostelz.com Review


Your Comments
This is an open forum, and unlike other hostel guide websites, we don't censor out the negative comments.
We do not validate the legitimacy of comments posted on this site—so take what you read here with a grain of salt.
Comment by Susan, USA
May 2008
Great place
I have stayed in this hostel twice, once in 2005 and once recently. I was happy to see that it hasn't changed a bit. The staff are friendly and helpful, and the accommodations are comfortable and clean. I have nothing negative to say about it and would definitely stay here again.
Comment by Helena, Sweden
December 2007
Good.
Good place, great staff, friendly people. Their Grand Canyon tour was good but quite expensive. The look on our door was fishy and it took us about half an hour to get into our room. But the staff was really nice about it, even though I had to run and get them every time I wanted to get in.
Comment by Jim, United States
November 2007
Traveler friendly, great accomodations within walking distance of city
It's a great hostel with Wi-Fi computers, free breakfast. I have stayed in hundreds of hostels around the world and it is definitely worth a stay in pricey Flagstaff. The management is very helpful and accommodating!
Comment by Brandon, US of A
November 2007
Great place!
I really enjoyed this hostel. The building and rooms and nice and clean. It feels like home. Their Grand Canyon tours are top notch and definitely worth the money. As others have said it's close to the train tracks and the noise can get bothersome. This is the same anywhere in Flagstaff as it's a small city, so no matter where you stay this will be an issue.
Comment by Anthony Lin, Taiwan
August 2007
Heartwarming
Though we just stayed for one night, this hostel impressed us with its warm ambiance and friendly attitude. The staff was nice, the room was clean, and the breakfast was nutritious (they had fruit!). Besides, I found I lost something after coming back to my country, and I wrote back to this hostel to ask. They kept it! And you can feel that they are sincere to deal with your problem.
Comment by Jon and Laura
March 2007
The location of this place is great, they offer free pickups from the greyhound station too which is good but we tried calling for about forty-five minutes, but no one answered so we had to walk. Flagstaff is a really safe town and the hostel has a nice, homey feel with a nice, free breakfast.
Comment by Rob
February 2007
A superb hostel. Great location and great amenities. The owners are fab and will do as much as they can to help you get to places and are minds of information. The hostel itself is luxury in hostel terms. The building is clean and well maintained. Rooms are spacious and of high quality. The TV room has loads of great movies if you wanna sit and chill. The hostel location means it's only about one hour from the Grand Canyon and Sedona National Parks. Trip packages are also available. All in all luxury at peanut prices.
Comment by Eric
December 2006
I stayed at the GCIH just before and just after xmas. It was an excellent home base for exploring the many amazing things to see in the area. The hostel was well-run, with rules that were sensible and not real restrictive. The management and their employees (actual and work-for-rent) were very friendly and helpful. The place attracted all sorts of guests from lone artists to a guy traveling with his wife and kids. Everyone was very cool, and it was very much relaxed, with a "friends and family" sort of feel to the place. I met interesting people from around the globe. When I wanted to chill out and relax at the hostel for a day and not do anything, I could. If I just wanted to crash there that night and stay out all day, I could. I had a room key and a hostel key, so I admire the trust they put in their patrons. That doesn't mean they trust everyone. I did see them turn away a couple dubious fellows wanting to stay there. They keep it a great place to stay without worrying about yourself or your stuff. Lastly, the amenities were plentiful with two bathrooms and a kitchen upstairs, and as many downstairs. The TV room is cozy with a selection of movies. I only saw three downsides to the GCIH. If you're a light sleeper, there are trains passing nearby nearly every couple hours it seems. Two, they have internet, but they want $2 for half hour, and lastly, it's an old building and the windows are pretty drafty, so the more windows in your room, the chillier it was (my first room was a single on the corner and it was freezing). Obviously that last isn't a problem in the summer though. Overall I still give it an excellent.
Comment by FannYu
October 2006
The train noise is awfully loud and frequent (especially during late night!). my boyfriend and I almost gave this hostel only one star. People are friendly at the hostel. Bathrooms and showers are clean. Parking is not a problem. The kitchen feels like home. The hostel itself does deserve a lot of credit but the train noise alone could ruin the whole experience.
Comment by Anna
July 2006
I can't say enough good things about this place. The hostel was clean and comfortable, and the common spaces were well kept and very conducive to meeting people. The staff were super friendly and helpful. When there weren't enough people to go on the Sedona trip, one of the staff looked around to see if someone was going and hooked me up with some very nice people who took me along. The town itself is also quite nice, very charming, and relaxed. Just make sure you bring earplugs, or I think they have them at the front desk because the hostel is right behind the train station, which is convenient but noisy. The hostel was so awesome, the day trips were incredible, and everyone I met there was great. I didn't want to leave! I plan on going back as soon as I can.
Comment by Wilfred
May 2006
the hostel is nice and friendly, and clean! the rooms are fine and enough room, with sink and mirror. the bathrooms are roomy and quite clean and private. the kitchens are good with everything you need. a bbq is outside with tables. the eating area is nice for the great free breakfasts you are given, which consists of fruit, toast and cereal. the town itself is great; lots of great bars and restaurants since it is a small college town. the mountains are a good hike away and worth doing, there is also a good training track before the trails. the grand canyons we missed unfortunately since not enough people put their names down. but sedona park is a must! over all a great hostel, and they own the other one as well so you can use their free pool table and foosball.
Comment by Anonymous
June 2005
The best hostel I've stayed at in the United States so far. Great kitchen, friendly staff, and very clean. I went on the Grand Canyon day trip and it was terrific. The only thing that was less than great was the amount of bathrooms/showers. Other than that, two thumbs up!
Comment by Rebecca
June 2005
I can't rave enough about this place and its people. I planned on staying one night and stayed five!! The team there is amazing, the rooms are clean, the bathrooms are private and the town is great. Plan on staying at least a few days, you'll have a blast!
Comment by Dave
May 2005
This is probably the best hostel I have stayed at. You meet many wonderful people, and you simply cannot beat the vibe. The rooms are fairly clean, and my only complaint was the somewhat dirty bathroom.
Comment by Anna
April 2005
I was there in April 2005. A great hostel, in a great location. There are tons of restaurants and bars close by. I don't recommend the Thai place across the street if you've ever actually eaten Thai food. But the Joint across the street was a lot of fun and not a scary place. Us two girls went with some new friends from the hostel and we had a great time. It's the only bar open past 12 a.m. on a Sunday that we could find. The one-man band was great! The beds in the private doubles are well worn, but the refrigerator in every room made up for it. It's clean, safe, has street parking and a generous free breakfast. The trains are a bit loud, but pretty much unavoidable, since they go right through town.
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